User blog:Seieireppa/Matt's Predator Style Insight blog, v1.2
Since a bunch of new Predator Styles have been released since the last time I did this, I thought I'd post my thoughts on all the Predator Styles currently available as a series veteran, rating them and giving tips for usage. EX Tier Bendiga: My personal favorite devour. Great for closing distances and initiating battle with a distant enemy that hasn't engaged you yet. Plus, the 100% Burst gauge and superarmor during the dashing animation make this one of the best devours for utility. Dionaea: Technically the best devour in the game. If you can accurately time the counterattack, you'll be completely invincible and unstaggerable for the duration of the devour animation. This lets you trivialize potentially difficult missions like Demon Dragon Emperor if you can maintain proper timing. As an aside, the timing actually becomes easier the faster the enemy is, as the smaller window between the start of the enemy's attack and when it actually hits means that there's less of a risk of deploying Dionaea too early. S Tier Carnage: Oh boy do I love Carnage. There's nothing that really needs to be said here other than PAIR IT WITH OSS: BULLET (and optionally a Charge Speed Up ability somewhere in your setup). You'll be able to pull of repeated instances of potentially absurd, instantly-unbounding damage. Orca: In terms of actual devour utility, it's less than stellar, but with low charge time and the ability to deploy a lasting healing butt on the field (with no limit to how many can be deployed at once), Orca is indispensable for running a support set for multiplayer. Sharktooth: This is up here more for its utility as a method of mobility than for its actual devour potential. Unlike Sturm, this one pierces through the enemy, letting you reposition yourself with ease and dodge attacks with ease. Essential if you favor a lighter playstyle that relies on dodging around and waiting for an opportune moment to strike. Soaring Hawk: I used this for a very, very long time. Setting this on Quick will let you perform instantaneous repositioning by dodging through the enemy. Due to the speed of deployment and distance traveled, spot dodges are possible, and you can use the dodge plus the altitude gained to chain directly into something like Punisher. Punisher: Great Air devour. The 100% granted Burst gauge and ability to remain in the air without falling while charging the devour animation make this an incredible devour for utility. Since you don't fall while charging the devour animation, you can stay out of reach of many ground-based Aragami attacks, and the lack of altitude lost after the devour means you can remain in the air for a considerable period of time, assuming the Aragami doesn't move. A Tier Mizuchi: Another excellent Charge devour. Good for devouring from well outside the range of a good majority of Aragami, without too long a charge time. Kagachi: If you want more Burst gauge and Aragami bullets and don't mind a longer charge time, go with this instead of Mizuchi, but be prepared to sacrifice a bit of utility. Sechshorn: Excellent for use as a combo or quick devour if you favor a less aggressive playstyle that doesn't rely on keeping in the enemy's face. Lets you dodge out of the way of many Aragami's AOE attacks safely. Sturm: An excellent devour for those who do favor a more aggressive playstyle. Similar to Sharktooth in its use for traveling distances, setting Sturm on Step will let you close the distance to yout enemy and launch right into an attack. Jail/Silver Claw: One of the best all-around utility devours out there. Great for playing keep-away with your target, both Jail Claw and Silver Claw let you devour while dodging well out of the way of an enemy's attack, forcing the enemy to turn to face you, which in turn gives you a window to attack them. Use Jail Claw if you want more Burst, but Silver Claw if you want more Aragami Bullets. Drunk: A tricky devour that combines Sturm and Sechshorn into a single action. Leaves you vulnerable more than Sechshorn or Sturm do individually, but it can be better for setup if you want to approach from outside an Aragami's range but leave some room for follow-up attacks from a slight distance. Gale: One of the best devours for those who favor aggressive, in-your-face playstyles. Instantaneous deployment and zero post-devour delay let you cancel combos with it AND cancel it into further combos. Especially great if you favor IE and have Devour OP Recovery/Intake active, or if you're running a set with Burst Consumption Attack and Decreased Burst Consumption. Fan of Mist: A useful devour if you want to sustain infinite aerial combos but don't like the delay on Punisher or want something with more range/reach than Raven or Pearl Bird. Jaw Piercer: Probably the best devour from the demo. Being Rank 1 hurts it, but it's among the best for repositioning/getting out of sticky situations, as well as quick travelling. B Tier Möbius: Can seem useful at first glance for triggering CUs or rapid Burst intake, but forcing you to remain in one place and the inability to cancel out of it (into a step or guard) means it's not quite as useful as it seems, especially since it's only Rank 1. That said, if you have Devour HP/OP intake active, say hello to a near-limitless supply of HP and OP. Rising Falls: A version of Soaring Hawk that finds itself to be far more situational than its counterpart. Since it doesn't devour forward, only straight upwards, its usefulness for dodging is gone, and it grants a negligible 5% less Burst gauge. However, again, if you favor a more aggressive, in-your-face playstyle, you might favor Rising Falls for its ability to keep you in one place, potentially right up against a particular weak point. Raven/Pearl Bird: Two sides of the same coin. An altogether moderately useful Air devour; however, unlike Punisher or Fan of Mist, it cannot sustain truly infinite aerial combos due to a slight loss of altitude during the devour animation. Use Raven if you want the ability to use Rank 2 Control Units, or use Pearl Bird for instantaneous Burst activation. Pearl Bird also has the added effect of restoring more OP depending on your altitude, so take that as you will. "Meh" Tier Everything else, except... Shit Tier (Do not use) Heaven's Maw: Sure, the prospect of instant Level 3 Burst can seem enticing, but the 5-second charge time is just not worth it. Deals immense damage on hitting a weak spot, but is it really worth it? No. It is not. Golden Maw: Somehow, even worse. Takes all your stamina and a similarly huge charge time to grant all your ALLIES Level 3 Burst... when you could just pass them Aragami Bullets instead :/ First Style + all its elemental variants: Just why? First Style itself is completely superfluous in relation to other Charge devours with additional functionality, and there's zero point to the elemental variants unless you can somehow coordinate single-element sets between all your allies online. Just... don't use them. Second Style: Useless. There are other devours that have additional effects that make Second Style completely superfluous, much like First Style. Category:Blog posts Category:Blog posts